Monday, April 9, 2012

Promenades in Paris

Monday, April 9th, 2012

Woke about 11:30 am…but then it was 1:30 am last night when I finished my blog; so a good night’s sleep was great! We enjoyed breakfast in the apartment and left about 2:30 pm to visit the Promenade in the 11th arrondissement that was created from an abandoned elevated train line. It’s about 2 miles long and we walked the length enjoying the views along the way.

The recent warm weather…before we arrived…generated spring blossoms on the trees and plants that survived the recent cold weather that we’ve had since we arrived were beautiful. The elevated portion is only about half of the trail and then it is street level and provides space for walking and a separate space for the bicycle riders. Bicycles are not allowed on the elevated portion of the Promenade. We started our walk at the new Opera in the Bastille area and walked to the Peripherique at the edge of the city. Paris is much smaller than one expects; at least the older portion inside of the Peripheerique…the ring road that surrounds Paris.

Leaving the Promenade we walked for several blocks to find a Metro Station. It was raining quite hard by then with wind made the umbrella’s hard to control. But using our maps we finally found the Picpus Station that is a direct line back to the Eiffel Tower area and our apartment.

We stayed on all the way to the Eiffel Tower and then walked another Promenade along the Seine River west to find the Statue of Liberty that all of the dinner cruises pass near the end of their evening cruise…always playing “New York, New York” as they round the island that has the statue before heading into the dock and the end of their marvelous evening. Two days ago we saw the very first model of the statue of liberty and this was the much larger working model. Jim wanted to see this so this was his Promenade and the first was mine.


From there we walked home to the apartment in the rain…arrived about 6 pm. Off to the market a block away for some groceries and then fixed a delicious dinner of salad, chicken, gravy and potatoes with a glass of wine; all for about thirteen euros; not bad for a delicious meal. But I did have to do the dishes afterwards! The rain continues this evening and we expect more tomorrow. Per a Parisian lady last night…the weather is always bad at Easter and then that’s the end of winter! So Terry & Linda…think positive…the weather is expected to be warm and glorious for your visit at the end of May in Paris.

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